WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — In last week’s fertilizer plant fire, a reverse 911 call was one of the first ways that Winston-Salem firefighters got information to local residents. Those updates only help if they are in a language that residents can speak and understand.

What You Need To Know

A Winston-Salem community leader volunteered to translate and interpret updates about the fertilizer plant fire into Spanish

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 13.3% of residents in Forsyth County are Hispanic

She said making the non-English speaking community a priority during emergencies needs to happen across the state

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 13.3% of residents in Forsyth County are Hispanic. Asset Building Coalition of Forsyth County Executive Director Vivian Pérez Chandler saw a gap in accessibility for that community in Winston-Salem when it came to receiving emergency information.

“I was looking for what was going on and realized that the city had made announcements or they had sent messages through their Facebook platform, but they were all in English,” Pérez Chandler said.

Pérez Chandler said many Spanish-speaking community members live in the area around the plant, and she was concerned about them. She volunteered to translate the city’s English Facebook posts and interpret video updates about the fire in order to reach those residents with that critical information.

“We’ve got to make our non-English speaking community a priority as well. We shouldn’t be at the bottom or the last thing that everyone thinks of, or not even think of,” Pérez Chandler said.     

Pérez Chandler’s updates concerning the Winston-Salem fertilizer plant fire can be found here.